Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
“Jesus said to [Peter], ‘Feed My sheep’” (John 21:17).
Have you ever thought, “I don’t know if my sins are forgiven by God, because I don’t feel like I’m forgiven”? Have you thought, “I don’t think my sin is even forgivable.” Well, if you have thought that, you are not alone.
As soon as the rooster crowed on that Maundy Thursday, Peter wept bitterly. He betrayed Jesus after He said to Him that that He would never betray Him. His heart was broken.
On that Easter evening, Jesus appeared to the apostles in the barred-shut upper room. There, Jesus said, “Peace be with you” to Peter and the other unbelieving apostles. Jesus said, “Peace be with you” three times to His unbelieving apostles.
Through those words, Jesus forgave His unbelieving apostles and restored them to faith. Jesus reconciled them through corporate confession and absolution.
It is as if Jesus said what I say to you following our confession of sins: “Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” To which, we reply: “Amen” – this is most certainly true.
But Peter thought his sin against Jesus was just too large to be forgiven. Afterall, he said to Jesus, “‘Even though they all fall away, I will not.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.’ But [Peter] said emphatically, ‘If I must die with you, I will not deny you’ And they all said the same” (Mark 14:29-33).
They all denied Jesus that night. They all joined the ranks of unbelievers.
But on that Easter evening, and eight days later, all the apostles felt the forgiveness given by Jesus by His words, “Peace be with you,” all, except for Peter.
This leads us to today’s Gospel lesson. Today, Simon Peter says to his fellow apostles, “I am going fishing” (John 21:3). And to his comment, many of his fellow apostles join him. So, they went to the Sea of Tiberias, got out into the boat, and caught nothing. What a bummer. Expert fishermen catching not a single fish.
But just as they are about to give up, a voice calls out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” (John 21:5). They answered truthfully, saying, “No.”
The voice calls out to them again, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some” (John 21:6).
And so, they did, and they didn’t just find some, they found a plenty. They hauled in 153 large fish without breaking the net.
As soon as the fish began filling the net, John says to Peter, “It is the Lord!” (John 21:7). At once, Peter puts on his outer garment and throws himself into the sea. The other apostles followed Peter in the boat, pulling and tugging the net full of fish to the shore.
Now, this wasn’t the first time the apostles were involved in a miraculous catch of fish. Do you recall the last time? Last time this happened, Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). That was before Peter was called by Jesus to be His disciple. Now, that was the natural reaction of a man who had not yet seen the cross. You see, without the forgiveness of sins, we could never be in God’s presence. In fact, we would never want to be, since by nature, we are all enemies of God.
But this time is different. Instead of telling Jesus to depart from him, Peter instead jumps into the water. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to be near Jesus! Now, this is the natural reaction of Christians who believe in forgiveness, life and salvation won by Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
You see, believing in the crucified and risen Christ creates in us a completely new nature. Believing in the crucified and risen Christ gives us the certainty of eternal life!
Last time when Jesus performed the miracle of the large catch of fish, He said to His first disciples, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10).
Do you suppose that Peter and Andrew and James and John, who were at that first miraculous catch of fish, recalled that previous catch of fish?
Now, this new miraculous catch of fish is not the point of today’s Gospel reading. And the point is not just to report another resurrection appearance of Jesus. The real point is that this is an intentional reminder of what follows after people have seen the risen Christ and believed in Him, which is forgiveness of sins.
When they all got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire, and fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus prepared the meal.
But knowing that not all of His apostles felt forgiven, Jesus pulls Peter aside after breakfast and says, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord; you know that I love You.” “Feed My lambs.”
Then Jesus said a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” “Tend My sheep.”
Then Jesus said to Peter a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” To this Peter was grieved and said, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love you.” “Feed My sheep.”
Sometimes, we don’t feel the forgiveness given by God in corporate confession and absolution. You, like Peter, may still feel guilty. So, this is why Jesus also gives us the gift of individual confession and absolution.
You may think that only Roman Catholics offer individual confession and absolution, but there, you’d be wrong. Individual confession and absolution may not be a popular practice, but this is still a practice among Lutherans.
We are all burdened by sin. Peter was certainly burdened with his sin. So, when you feel that burden pressing against your conscience, come and see me. And when you are ready, I may hear your confession, so that you can be sure of God’s forgiveness.
On page 292 in the Lutheran Service Book is the rite of Individual Confession and Absolution. There you will see that confessing your sins to me individually is not as scary as you may have thought. Sometimes, we all need the personal assurance that your sin is forgiven. This is what Peter needed from Jesus. This is what you may need as well. My office is always open.
Peter received from Jesus what He needed. He received the forgiveness that he so longed for.
And now that all the apostles have received forgiveness, they are all now ready to do what they were called to do: spread the good news of the gospel – the forgiveness of sins won by Jesus and given by Jesus!
Through Holy Baptism, the Holy Spirit gave you faith to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He gave you the strength to come to Jesus as He called you by the Gospel and enlightened you with His gifts, sanctified and kept you in the one truth faith through His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments.
Jesus knows that as His followers, you will face attacks from your sinful flesh, the fallen world and Satan himself, so to keep us strong in the one true Christian faith, He has given us the gift of forgiveness of sins through corporate and individual confession and absolution – just as He did for Peter and his fellow apostles. Christ says to you: “Peace be with you” and “Follow Me.”
Christ continues to forgive and renew us through His Word and Sacraments. He strengthens us through a meal as He did for His apostles on the shore. Today, receive His forgiveness through His body and blood under bread and wine for you.
Each Lord’s Day, Jesus proclaims your forgiveness, so that we, too, through the work of the Holy Spirit, may spread this Gospel message to those who need to hear it most. We are people who are loved and forgiven by God, so let us spread this good news! Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen!
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
